


The Pumpkin War

by StackerPentecost



Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Zombie Apocalypse, Halloween, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-26
Updated: 2017-10-26
Packaged: 2019-01-23 07:35:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,126
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12502180
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StackerPentecost/pseuds/StackerPentecost
Summary: Negan and Daryl get into a pumpkin carving war. Rick ends up being the winner.





	The Pumpkin War

**Author's Note:**

> This is the first story I have finished in a while so I'm pretty proud of myself. I would like to take this chance to say thank you to Chloe, aka @casownsmyass on Tumblr. She is the best friend anyone could ever ask for and I love her to death. Without her ideas and help, this never would've gotten done.

It started on a Thursday.

They had spent the day on the local pumpkin farm, Judith’s first time visiting such a place. It was cute to watch her wander around all the pumpkins and gourds, some of which were even bigger than she was. She had been delighted by basically everything, right down to the cows they saw on the hayride around the farm. She’d even gotten to have cider and donuts before they’d gone to pick out their pumpkins.

Daryl had been elected to pull the cart, as his arms were the biggest by far and his knees didn’t ache in the cooler temperatures like Rick’s did. He agreed begrudgingly, and only after calling Rick an old man while forcing Carl into helping him.  
Then there was a slight problem. Judith loved every pumpkin she came across. She loved this one because of it’s height or that one because it looked like it was smiling. Soon enough they had amassed an army of pumpkins and Rick had to put his foot down before he spent his life savings on his daughter’s obsession.  
It took a while, but they eventually loaded them all into the bed of Daryl’s truck before piling in the front seat and heading back home.

* * *

 

Daryl, Carl and Rick too, all helped to unload the pumpkins, setting them out on the porch of Rick’s house. Afterward they all went in the house and Rick got out the hot chocolate. It wasn’t until there was a knock on the door that things started to get interesting.  
Carl and Judith sat at the kitchen table, enjoying their mugs of warm chocolate goodness, discussing how they wanted to carve their pumpkins while Daryl listened nearby with Rick. He’d also been elected to carve their horde, since he was clearly the one with the best knife skills. Carl didn’t understand why he wasn’t allowed to carve his own but Rick insisted Daryl do it, just to be safe.

  
The knock on the door startled them all. Rick set down his mug and went to answer it.

  
“Rick! How the hell are ya?”

  
Rick was glad he didn’t have his glass or he just might have dropped it.

  
“Negan? I..wasn’t expecting you.”

  
The taller man simply grinned widely, clad in his usual leather jacket. “Well, I saw all the pumpkins and just had to get in on that. Little Judy gone and picked the whole field, hasn’t she?”

  
Rick turned his head briefly to look at his daughter, who was smiling like the cat that ate the canary. She was happy that someone else besides her family had noticed her multitude of pumpkins. She slid off of her chair and came running to the door, smile still in place.

  
“Would you like to help carve the pumpkins? Daryl says we’re carving them next.” She chirped up at Negan.

  
Rick reached to pick up his child, smiling apologetically at the other man. “I’m sure you’re busy, you certainly don’t have to stay. We understand.”

  
Judith frowned up at Rick, her little lip sticking out in a pout before she looked back at Negan. “Please, pretty please!”

  
Negan tilted his head, looking between the two. “Aw come on, Rick. She wants me to stay, how can you possibly say no to that face?”

  
Rick looked down at Judith, whose pout became even more intense. He sighed. “Alright, alright, come on in. We’re having hot chocolate, do you want some?” He stepped aside and allowed Negan into his home.

  
Daryl glared at both Negan and Rick while they weren’t looking.

  
Negan rubbed his hands together. “Hot damn, I would love some.”

  
Rick set Judith down and she immediately ran to the towering man, wrapping her arms around Negan’s leg. He smiled, crouching down to give her a hug. “Hey there, sweetheart. Long time no see, huh?”

  
Rick felt conflicted as he poured Negan a mug of hot chocolate. He wasn’t sure how he felt about having this man, who he’d been dating up until a few months ago, in his house once again, especially with Daryl also here. He didn’t want to start a fight. But Judith seemed to really want Negan here and as evidenced by the swarm of pumpkins outside, Rick had trouble saying no to his daughter.

  
“Here you go.” Rick offered the cup to Negan, who smiled widely at him before taking it.

  
There was then an awkward silence that settled over the room as they all looked at each other. Rick cleared his throat.

  
“Um, Negan, this is Daryl. I’m not sure you’ve met before.”

  
Negan seemed rather pleased at the sight of Daryl, though Rick really didn’t understand why.

  
“Of course, your main squeeze! Dixon, right? You and your brother own the bike shop in town, yeah? I think Merle’s worked on mine a few times, but I’ve never met you.” He offered his hand to shake.

  
Daryl finally pulled his gaze away from where it had been stuck on the floor, his eyes drifting up to look at Negan through his bangs. His expression was unreadable, neither happy nor angry, simply too clouded for Rick to read. Which usually wasn’t a good sign. Nonetheless, after a moment or two, he reached out and took Negan’s hand, allowing them to shake. Negan smiled the whole time, as though he wasn’t making nice with the man who had essentially replaced him in Rick’s life.

  
“Daryl’s gonna carve all the pumpkins!” cried Judith, who came to where Daryl was sitting, smiling happily up at him. His expression changed when he looked at the little girl, a small smile of his own settling on his lips.

  
“Right. We were all just about to go pick some of the pumpkins and bring them in. But first I’ve got to get the newspaper down.” Rick disappeared briefly into the foyer and came back with a stack of old newspapers. He and Carl then proceeded to cover the entire dining room table, just to be safe.

  
“Help me get the pumpkins!” The next Negan knew Judith had him by the hand and was tugging him toward the door and out onto the porch. She giggled happily upon seeing the massive amount of pumpkins, situated in every nook and cranny, taking over the porch to the point you almost didn’t have room to walk.

  
“Alright, sweetheart. Which one first?”

  
Judith quickly pointed one out and Negan easily picked it up and hefted it into the house for the little girl.

  
Daryl waited for them, knife laying out at the ready. He opened his mouth for the first time after Negan had set the pumpkin on the table. He looked at Judith, smiling ever so faintly again. “What do you want it to look like, Judy?”

  
The little girl suddenly looked like she was deep in thought, even going as far as to tap her chin quizzically. Only to blink in surprise when Negan interrupted.  
“Woah, wait a second. I helped her bring the pumpkin in, I should be the one carving it.”

  
Daryl blinked as well, a hint of annoyance registering on his face before it disappeared and he returned to his blank expression.  
“Well, we sorta agreed that Daryl would be the one carving. He’s really good with a knife.” Rick responded, feeling a bit of a need to defend his boyfriend. Daryl chewed on his lip and nodded, eyeing Negan through his bangs.

  
“And I’m not? You know that’s not true, Rick. I would make a fuc-” He cleared his throat, remembering Judith was in the room, “fricking excellent pumpkin carver. And wouldn’t it be a little rude to not give your guest a chance too? Daryl can have another pumpkin to carve and I’ll take this one. I mean, there sure are plenty of them. What do you think, sweetpea?” Negan looked down at the little girl by his side. She grinned and immediately shouted, “More pumpkins!”

  
Daryl, who did not like the idea of giving Negan a knife, sighed ever so faintly, knowing there was probably no use in arguing. But he wasn’t about to take his eyes off of Negan, that was for sure.  
So another pumpkin was brought in and albeit reluctantly, Negan was given his own knife to carve. As he handed it to him, Rick wondered if this was going to be a mistake. He had wondered the same thing as he had let Negan into his house. But Judith seemed to love the man, so how bad could he really be? She had always been a good judge of character.

  
That’s what Rick told himself anyway, that he didn’t really want Negan here, that it was all for his daughter. Whether that was true or not remained to be seen.  
The carving quickly got under way. Rick sighed softly and sat down next to Carl on the other side of the table to observe. Judith planted herself on a chair between Daryl and Negan, where she could see everything that was happening.

  
Negan worked quick, obviously attempting to get the upper hand, despite the fact that he didn’t really need to. Daryl was quieter, more reserved in his motions, really thinking about what he was doing. The tip of his tongue stuck out the corner of his mouth as he worked.

  
At first you couldn’t tell what either of them had in mind. It looked like they were just making a big mess, cutting out the tops of the pumpkin and scraping out the insides. But gradually things began to take shape.

  
“Done!” Negan crowed first, proudly turning his pumpkin for all to see, especially Judith. The little girl oohed and awwed, clapping her hands together with a squeal of delight.

  
“Ain’t no race.” grumbled Daryl under his breath as he continued to carve.

  
Negan had carved a lifelike princess, one that looked suspiciously like Judy. She had long hair and a flowing dress to go with the tiara on her head.  
“For you, sweetheart.”

  
This made Judith happy to no end. She insisted on crawling into Negan’s lap to get a good look at it, little hand reaching out to touch his work.  
Afterwards they took the pumpkin outside together, setting it back in it’s place on the porch for everyone to admire.

  
Now Daryl was feeling a little bit pressured. He eyed Negan as he came back into the house, knowing everyone’s attention was all going to be turned on him. Finally, he finished, revealing what he’d been working on.

  
When Judith got a look at it, she gasped loudly. “Stitch!”

  
Daryl smiled faintly, trying not to seem too proud of himself even though he wanted to rub it in Negan’s face, if only just a little. The only reason he was aware of things like Disney movies was because of the little girl he was carving for. He had spent many hours, ass planted on Rick’s couch while Judith enjoyed her movies. He didn’t hate all of them, and Lilo and Stitch was cool, it was about aliens.

  
Negan didn’t seem as pleased with himself now. Though he didn’t outwardly mock Daryl’s pumpkin, because he was an adult and there were children present, he was determined to step up his game. Besides, Rick was watching. This was quickly becoming a contest and dammit he was gonna win for Rick!  
Daryl’s pumpkin was set outside with the other completed one and new pumpkins were retrieved. The two men set about carving again, the pile of discarded parts growing larger by the minute.

  
“You know Daryl,” Negan began as he brushed the bits of pumpkin away from his masterpiece, “maybe we should make this thing official.”

  
Daryl looked up from his work, brows knitting together. “What are you talkin’ bout?”

  
“Well, only one of us is the better one here, right? Maybe we should, you know, make a little wager of it.”

  
Daryl just stared. Rick sat up in his chair. “Negan, you sure that’s the best idea? I mean, they are just pumpkins..”

  
Negan winked at the other man. “Of course I’m sure, why can’t we make this a little more fun, huh?” He looked back at Daryl. “Come on, it’ll be fun.” His grin looked a little bit like a smirk. Rick sighed softly, knowing once again it was no use arguing with Negan when he wanted something.

  
Daryl chewed his lip, “Depends on what’s on the table.”

  
Negan’s grin widened. “Ah, you’ve got a smart man here, Rick. How about..$50?”

  
Daryl made a face at this. “Don’t want yer money.”

  
“Well shi-shoot.” This caught Negan just a tad bit by surprise. It looked like he was going to have to get creative. Then his eyes landed on Judith, who had parked herself back in her chair to watch them.

  
“How about a date..with the little lady here? We can even make it an ice cream date.”

  
Just as Judith shouted yes, Rick shouted no.

  
“My daughter is not a prize.” He huffed, crossing his arms over his chest.

  
“Aw come on, Rick, she’s into it. What’s a little ice cream gonna hurt? And I’m sure you know what I mean when I say, the little girl obviously gets what she wants.”

  
“Yeah! Daddy, please?” Judith stood up on her chair and proceeded to jump up and down in excitement.

  
Daryl was the one to get up and insist she had to sit, while sharing a look with Rick. The two men didn’t have to talk in order to communicate. All Daryl had to do was lift his shoulder slightly, nod his head just so and he said more than a world of words could.

  
Rick felt like he was agreeing a lot of things today.

  
Carl nudged his father. “Chill, dad before you pop a blood vessel.” He had been looking at his phone while most of this had been going on.  
Negan looked imploringly at Rick. It took several moments, but finally he gave in.

  
“Fine.” He declared. “But I’m going with whoever wins, no arguments.”

  
“Of course! I wouldn’t have it any other way! And Daryl?” Negan turned and once again held out his hand for Daryl to shake. Hesitating less this time, Daryl reached and shook hands with Negan, who whooped, “May the best man win!” Judith seemed just as pleased knowing the fact that she was going to be getting ice cream no matter who won.

As they worked, Negan kept trying to subtly watch Daryl from the corner of his eye. He was very interested in seeing what his opponent was going to come up with next. They were each six pumpkins deep, with their creations already being praised by Rick’s neighbors and passersby.

  
The table was an utter mess, more newspaper was needed as the entrails really started to pile up. Each time Negan came up with something great, it seemed like Daryl came up with something just slightly better and it was beginning to drive him a little bit nuts. He was supposed to be owning this, showing Rick just what he was missing. But now, things seemed to have shifted. Maybe it wasn’t just Rick he was trying to impress, maybe it was Daryl too.

  
Negan’s gaze must have a wandered a little too far though, for he soon found himself with a cut on his finger.

  
“Son of a bi - usiness man!” Negan set down his knife dramatically and Daryl looked up from what he was doing.

  
“Carl, the first aide kit, please?” Rick directed. The teenger set down his phone and went to retrieve it from under the kitchen sink. Daryl, meanwhile, had gotten up from his chair and came to inspect the cut. He didn’t touch Negan, just observed.

  
“It’s not too deep,” he muttered, “you’ll live.”

  
Judith came over looking concerned. Carl set the first aide kit down for Negan. The older man reached in and cleaned the cut before wrapping a bandage around it.  
“Wait!” Judith cried out. All eyes turned on her.

  
“Somebody’s gotta kiss it better or it’ll never get better!”

  
At this, Negan grinned like he’d just won the lottery. “You are absolutely right, sweetheart.” He looked up at Daryl, who had sat back down. He held out his hand, injured finger out. “Now Daryl, if you don’t mind…”

  
The other man looked almost startled, unsure of why Negan would ask such a thing of him. If anything, he’d expected him to proposition Rick. But he knew he couldn’t just blow it off and be a dick, especially with Judith’s eyes right on him.

  
So, Daryl reluctantly reached over, grabbed Negan’s hand, and brought his lips to the bandaged digit, managing to scowl the whole time. He didn’t know what kind of game Negan was playing but he was pretty sure he didn’t like it.

  
Rick watched the exchange carefully, also wondering what exactly what Negan was up to.

  
“Ya ready to keep goin’ or do ya just wanna throw in the towel?” Daryl asked after having moved his chair even further away from Negan than it already was.

  
“Are you kidding me? My injuries will only make me stronger!” Negan declared, picking up his knife once more. Daryl rolled his eyes from under his bangs and did the same. Soon, they were back it.

  
Daryl really hoped he got this one right. Judith had told him exactly what she wanted and he wanted to please her more than anything. Unbeknownst to Daryl, Negan was feeling the same thing as Judith had also instructed him as to what she wanted to see.

  
They both finished at about the same time. They essentially ignored each other at first, too caught up in admiring their own work. Judith looked both amazed and delighted. When Rick came around to the other side of the table, he was taken aback and looked at both of them like they were crazy.

  
Negan noticed it first. He turned to take a look at what Daryl had come up with, for once feeling he was definitely going to win this round, only to discover..

  
“YOU DID NOT MAKE THE SAME THING AS ME!” He cried, waving his hands at Daryl’s pumpkin. The other man looked up and frowned, about to ask what the hell Negan was freaking out about when he realized that they had indeed carved the same thing.

  
That same thing happened to be a likeness of Rick.

  
“I cannot believe you.” Daryl growled, eyes narrowing as he glared at Negan.

  
Negan glared right back. “Me? I haven’t done a damn thing!”

  
“Yeah you have, you stole ma idea!”

  
“I did not! You stole my idea, Dixon!”

  
Things were quickly becoming quite serious. Daryl already had his knife in his hand and Negan looked like he was going to reach for his. Thankfully, Rick came back to his senses right then.

  
“Woah woah woah, calm down, both of you. I am literally the police around here, I will not have a double murder in my home!”

  
“But Rick! How am I supposed to win with him copying me?” Negan demanded to know, taking a step closer to Daryl, who held his ground.

  
“I did not copy you!” Daryl insisted, stamping his foot down. His whole body was taut and he looked ready to pounce on Negan.

  
“Fight!” Carl called from his place at the table where he’d been watching the whole exchange. “Fight! For my dad’s honor!”

  
If looks could kill, Carl would’ve burst into flames right about then. Rick came and knocked the hat clean off his son’s head. “You are not helping!”

  
“Come on Rick, we won’t break any furniture, right Daryl?” Negan was grinning again.

  
“I can’t make any promises.” Daryl grunted, still gripping his knife.

  
“No! Absolutely not!” Rick bent to pick up Judith.

  
“I officially declare you both winners! Now you can either both on the ice cream date or neither of you can go. I will have no more pumpkin wars in my house.”

  
“But Rick-”

  
“You heard me! Take it or leave it! And you two better learn to get along if we’re all taking Judy out.”

  
Carl huffed and picked his phone back up. “You’re no fun, Dad.”

  
Rick’s expression softened a little at this. “I just..want everyone to like each other.” He muttered, almost more to himself than anyone else.

  
“Aw, Rick..” Negan stopped and set down his knife. “You think we can’t cooperate with each other?”

  
“You’re ready to stab each other.” Rick pointed out.

  
Daryl put down his weapon and held up his hands. “I’m not and neither is he, right Negan?”

  
Negan nodded emphatically, coming over to Rick’s side. “We know better Rick, we’re not children, are we Daryl?”

  
Daryl shook his head. “No, we ain’t. And..we both want ya to be happy..right?”

  
Negan smiled and for once it looked genuine. “Exactly. That’s all we wanted. If I’m being honest here and I would say I am, then the only reason I wanted to win in the first place was to impress you and Judy.”

  
Rick blinked and looked down at his daughter, who grinned and giggled. He then looked between the two of them. “Really?”

  
Daryl felt his cheeks burn ever so faintly and nodded. “Yeah..it’s true.”

  
Rick was quiet for a long moment before a soft smile slowly came to his lips. His cheeks warmed and he looked away before kissing Judith’s curly blonde head. “Hear that Judy? We’re popular.” She giggled again, reaching up to tug on Rick’s beard.

  
“Now, are we gonna go out for ice cream or not? And it’s on Negan, that’s what you get for almost starting a fight under my roof.”

  
The dark haired man simply grinned. “Whatever you say, Rick, you’re calling the shots, remember?”

  
They all prepared to leave. Judith insisted on wearing her fairy princess costume, even though Rick made her wear a coat over it.

  
“Are you coming?” He called to Carl as everyone else went to climb into the car.

  
“Nah. I’ve had enough of watching two guys make lovey dovey eyes at you for one day. But would you bring me back a chocolate shake?”

  
Rick flushed all over again but nodded anyway.

* * *

 

The local ice cream shop was small but well-frequented by most everyone in town. Luckily, today there was only a few people milling about, enjoying their ice cream.  
As they walked in together, Rick reached out to take Daryl’s hand. They did this on a pretty regular basis but Daryl still got a little red around the edges when it happened.

  
Judith followed, watching them together. She looked up at Negan. “Will you hold my hand too?”

  
Negan chuckled and held out his hand for her to take. “I would be happy to, sweetheart.”

  
The little girl made a beeline right for the counter, tugging Negan behind her. “I want cotton candy flavor! And sprinkles!”

  
“Yes and cookie dough, with both caramel and chocolate syrup and sprinkles too. Oh! And gummy bears.”

  
Behind him, Rick wrinkled his nose. “I think I’ll just have rocky road.” He looked at Daryl. “What about you?”

  
“I’ll take strawberry.”

They all sat together in the corner booth with their ice cream. Judith practically inhaled hers and Rick continually reached for napkins to clean off her face. Meanwhile Negan entertained her, making funny voices and playing like his gummy bears could talk. Rick watched the whole thing with a small smile on his face. Maybe he’d been wrong about Negan. Judith seemed to love him as much as she loved Daryl. It warmed his heart to watch them together.

  
Daryl ate quietly beside him, still holding onto Rick’s hand.

  
Negan looked up then, noticing a bit of ice cream on Daryl’s mouth. He was about to say something, only to get a much better idea. He grinned widely before leaning over the table and promptly kissing Daryl like his life depended on it.

  
Rick looked between the two of them, just a little bit shocked, but not really mad, though he wished they weren’t in public. Now everyone in town was going to be talking.  
Daryl had turned red from the tips of his ears down to his neck and all over his face by the time Negan pulled back. Negan just continued to grin. When he saw Rick’s slightly questioning look, he shrugged, “He had ice cream on his face.”

  
Daryl was speechless, but looked almost..pleased. Judith watched the whole thing with a big smile on her face. She loved when her daddies got along.

  
Rick chuckled and shook his head. Maybe this whole pumpkin war hadn’t been such a bad thing after all.


End file.
